Thursday night May 11

Preparation

Opening response and confession of sin

The Lord almighty grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.Amen.

Our help is in the name of the Lordwho made heaven and earth.

A period of silence may be kept for reflection on the past day.

Most merciful God,we confess to you,before the whole company of heaven and one another,that we have sinned in thought, word and deedand in what we have failed to do.Forgive us our sins,heal us by your Spiritand raise us to new life in Christ. Amen.

Favor us, Lord, and deliver us.Lord, come quickly and help us.

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand shall be for ever. Amen.

Hymn

Earth, Rejoice, Our Lord Is King!

Power is all to Jesus given,Lord of hell, and earth, and heaven,Every knee to him shall bow;Satan, hear, and tremble now!

Angels and archangels join,All triumphantly combine,All in Jesus’ praise agree,Carrying on his victory.

Though the sons of night blaspheme,More there are with us than them;God with us, we cannot fear;Fear, ye fiends, for Christ is here!

Lo! to faith's enlightened sight,All the mountain flames with light,Hell is nigh, but God is nigher,Circling us with hosts of fire.

Christ the Savior is come down,Points us to the victor's crown,Bids us take our seats above,More than conquerors in his love.

The Word of God

Psalm 104

Refrain:I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.

Let my whole being bless the Lord! Lord my God, how fantastic you are! You are clothed in glory and grandeur!You wear light like a robe; you open the skies like a curtain.You build your lofty house on the waters; you make the clouds your chariot, going around on the wings of the wind.You make the winds your messengers; you make fire and flame your ministers.You established the earth on its foundations so that it will never ever fall.You covered it with the watery deep like a piece of clothing; the waters were higher than the mountains!But at your rebuke they ran away; they fled in fear at the sound of your thunder.They flowed over the mountains, streaming down the valleys to the place you established for them.You set a boundary they cannot cross so they’ll never again cover the earth.

You put gushing springs into dry riverbeds. They flow between the mountains, providing water for every wild animal— the wild donkeys quench their thirst.Overhead, the birds in the sky make their home, chirping loudly in the trees.From your lofty house, you water the mountains. The earth is filled full by the fruit of what you’ve done.You make grass grow for cattle; you make plants for human farming in order to get food from the ground, and wine, which cheers people’s hearts, along with oil, which makes the face shine, and bread, which sustains the human heart.The Lord’s trees are well watered— the cedars of Lebanon, which God planted, where the birds make their nests, where the stork has a home in the cypresses.The high mountains belong to the mountain goats; the ridges are the refuge of badgers.God made the moon for the seasons, and the sun too, which knows when to set.You bring on the darkness and it is night, when every forest animal prowls.The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God.When the sun rises, they gather together and lie down in their dens.Then people go off to their work, to do their work until evening.

Lord, you have done so many things! You made them all so wisely!The earth is full of your creations!And then there’s the sea, wide and deep, with its countless creatures— living things both small and large.There go the ships on it, and Leviathan, which you made, plays in it!All your creations wait for you to give them their food on time.When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled completely full!But when you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to dust.When you let loose your breath, they are created, and you make the surface of the ground brand-new again.

Let the Lord’s glory last forever! Let the Lord rejoice in all he has made!He has only to look at the earth, and it shakes. God just touches the mountains, and they erupt in smoke.

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I’m still alive.Let my praise be pleasing to him; I’m rejoicing in the Lord!Let sinners be wiped clean from the earth; let the wicked be no more.But let my whole being bless the Lord! Praise the Lord!

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Psalm prayer

Scripture readingRevelation 22:4-5

They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. Night will be no more. They won’t need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will shine on them, and they will rule forever and always.

Response

Lord, I entrust my spirit into your hands.Lord, I entrust my spirit into your hands.For you, Lord, God of faithfulness— you have saved me.I entrust my spirit into your hands.Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit.Lord, I entrust my spirit into your hands.Watch me with the very pupil of your eye!Hide me in the protection of your wings.

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticleThe Nunc Dimittis (Song of Simeon)

Refrain:Save us, O Lord, while waking, and guard us while sleeping, that awake we may watch with Christ and asleep may rest in peace. Alleluia.

Now, master, let your servant go in peace according to your word, because my eyes have seen your salvation.You prepared this salvation in the presence of all peoples.It’s a light for revelation to the Gentiles and a glory for your people Israel.

Luke 2:29-32

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:Save us, O Lord, while waking, and guard us while sleeping, that awake we may watch with Christ and asleep may rest in peace. Alleluia.

Brief silence.

Prayers

Thanksgiving and intercession

Open prayer is offered.Silence may be kept.

Collect

Almighty God,by triumphing over the powers of darknessChrist has prepared a place for us in the new Jerusalem:may we, who have this day given thanks for his resurrection,praise him in the eternal cityof which he is the light;through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Conclusion

We will lie down and fall asleep in peacebecause you alone, Lord, let us live in safety.Abide with us, Lord Jesus,for the night is at hand and the day is now past.As the night watch looks for the morning,so do we look for you, O Christ.

May the risen Lord Jesus bless us.May he watch over us and renew usas he renews the whole of creation.May our hearts and lives echo his love.Amen.